The Economy of Chile

The Chilean economy is highly ranked in the world and is ranked as a high-income economy and is considered one of the most stable and prosperous countries in South America. It is a leading Latin American nation in income per capita, competitiveness, globalization, low perception of corruption, and economic freedom. However, as measured by the so-called Gini index, Chile has high economic inequality.

In 2006, ten years ago, Chile became the country with the highest GDP in Latin America. In 2010, it became the first country in South America that joined the OECD. Its tax revenues (20,2% of GDP) were one of the lowest among the OECD countries in 2013, second lowest out of 34 to be precise, and the lowest in 2010. Less than 3% of the Chilean population lived on less than $2 a day in 2008.

The report of the global competitiveness ranked Chile the 30th and the first in the world and in Latin America in the matter of competitiveness in 2009 to 2010. For the comparison, Brazil was ranked 56th, Mexico 60th and Argentina 85th. Today, it is not in the top 30, but 34th in 2014, 41st in 2015 and 48th in 2016.

The largest sectors by GDP in 2012 were mining (mostly copper), business and personal services, manufacturing, wholesale and of course, retail trade. Almost 60% of its export were in the mining sectors!

Chilean Top Export Goods

Chile mostly exports goods such as copper (53.6%), grapes and other fruits (8.4%), chemicals (5.0%), seafood and fish (4.5%), paper and pulp (3.3%), wine (2.4%), lumber (2.2%), and gold (2.1%). Also, it is the 2nd biggest exporter of salmon in the world. Its main export partners are China, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea. However, its main import partners are the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, and Argentina. It mostly imports machinery, petroleum, transport equipment, chemicals, steel, and natural gas.